


A Touch of Paranoia

by butterflyslinky, Lady_Sci_Fi



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Episode Related, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-19
Updated: 2017-05-19
Packaged: 2018-11-02 10:52:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10943007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/butterflyslinky/pseuds/butterflyslinky, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Sci_Fi/pseuds/Lady_Sci_Fi
Summary: Garak and Julian have misgivings about Ziyal.(During "For the Cause")





	A Touch of Paranoia

 “You do know I didn’t mean that I don’t think you can’t politely introduce yourself to someone without nefarious motives, right?” Julian asked as he and Garak left the springball arena and headed to his quarters.

 Garak took a quick glance behind them, trying to spot a certain young woman who had attracted his attention during the matches. He let out a sigh, of both relief and annoyance, that Tora Ziyal wasn’t in the leaving crowd. She was probably staying behind to be with Kira. He turned his attention back to Julian and interlaced their fingers together at their sides. “I know you didn’t mean anything like that.”

 Julian smiled as he glanced down to their hands. “So I’m sorry if I insinuated it. I was just trying to look out for you.”

 “I appreciate your concern… though I feel the need to remind you that I can take care of myself.” The Cardassian’s tone was lightly teasing.

 “Of course, but that’s not going to stop me.”

 “Oh, I wouldn’t expect anything of the sort, my dear.”

 Julian chuckled. “Good, so we have an understanding.”

 The crowd thinned out as they reached the habitat ring. Julian said quietly, “I was serious, though. The last thing you need is bringing in trouble.”

 “Ah, but how uneventful would life be without at least a little?” At the sidelong glare, Garak added, “But in this case, you are right. Imagine, Dukat and Kira united against me over such a trivial matter.”

 “The universe would end,” Julian grinned. He keyed in the code for his quarters and they walked in. He went to the replicator. “Anything to drink?”

 “What was that you gave me last time? I’ll take that.”

 Julian ordered two glasses of red wine, and carried them to the sofa where Garak lounged. He stared down at him for a few seconds. At Garak’s questioning head tilt, he said, “You should do your hair like that more often. You usually have it behind your ridges. It’s nice.”

 Garak smiled at the compliment and took his glass. He only got a couple of sips in before Julian leaned over to engage him in a deep kiss. One that dispelled any thoughts or worries about anyone else.

 ********

 “We met in the elevator this morning,” Garak said as Julian sat down to lunch with him.

 It took the other man a moment to realize who he was talking about. “Ziyal?”

 Garak nodded. “We were the only occupants, and I thought it would be quite… rude and awkward if I didn’t say anything.”

 Julian raised his eyebrows and took a bite of his food.

 Garak grinned. “I managed to have polite discourse without any nefarious motives or outcomes.”

 Julian grunted as he swallowed. “I’ll be the judge of that. What did you say?”

 Garak raised a spoonful of stew to his lips. “Mostly assurances that we had nothing to fear from each other.” He put it warm food in his mouth and chewed.

 “I suppose that’s a good place to start, considering.”

 “Exactly. She seemed to think so, too.” Garak leaned in and lowered his voice. “I don’t think Major Kira saw us, if you’re worried about that.”

 “And what if Ziyal tells her?”

 “Then I hope the Major understands non-threatening and polite conversation.”

 “Are you going to talk to her again?”

 Garak shook his head. “I have no plans to. All I hoped to do in this morning was reach an understanding between us.”

 “For someone who only wanted to do that, you certainly were quite distracted during the springball matches,” Julian teased.

 “Well, she is the only Cardassian woman living on the station, her Bajoran heritage aside.”

 “Do you… find her attractive?”

 Garak was quiet as he ate more. “She is a pretty young woman,” he admitted. “As for being attracted to her in the way you mean… I wouldn’t call it that.”

 Julian stabbed a piece of meat with his fork. “No, if you were attracted to her, you would’ve gone straight to her and let that be known right away,” he said affectionately.

 “Now, really,” Garak protested. “You, my dear Julian, were quite special and warranted that treatment.”

 “Yes, I suppose I was. As you manage to remind me every day.”

 Garak lightly laughed and smiled down at his bowl.

 ********

 “Ziyal came to my shop today,” Garak said the next evening, looking up from his book to Julian walking into his quarters.

 “Oh? Curious about your work?”

 “That was… part of it, yes.”

 “Sounds like something else happened?”

 Garak put his padd down, and looked slightly uncomfortable. “Somehow, I ended up agreeing to go to the holosuite with her the day after tomorrow.”

 “You what?”

 “Believe me, I’m as surprised as you are at this outcome.”

 Julian sat next to the other man on the couch and let out a groan. “I know two people who are not going to be happy about this.”

 “Dukat is not on the station, so I’m not particularly worried about him.”

 “Fine, one who can actually do something to you.”

 “Yes, I am aware of this. I’m thinking of contacting her to cancel it.”

 “What’s the holosuite program?”

 “A Cardassian natural sauna.”

 Julian mouth hung open for a few seconds. “You agreed to go to a sauna with her?”

 “I know… I feel somehow tricked into this.”

 “You’re saying she tricked you into going to a holosuite sauna with her,” Julian replied, disbelieving.

 “She came in unexpectedly, complimented my work, then asked me if I wanted to accompany her.”

 “Come on, there’s more to it than that. How did she ask you?”

 “She… she was nervous, but determined.” Garak’s eyes widened. “What if it’s a ploy to kill me?” He stood up and started to pace. “Think about it. She acts innocent and sincere, which throws me off my guard and confuses me, since I wouldn’t be expecting it. In my confusion, I agree to meet her, despite the other reasons for me to decline the offer.”

 “You think she’s really up for something like that?”

 “You can’t be too careful, especially considering her parentage…”

 “You weren’t worried about Dukat before.”

 “Don’t you see? She could be acting on his behalf!”

 “I guess that is a possibility.”

 “Of course it’s a possibility!” Garak tilted his head back with a sound of frustration. “How did I let this happen?”

 “Hey, calm down. Nothing has happened to you.”

 “I let her get the better of me… and now she might use this to her and her father’s advantage…”

 “Not if you cancel.”

 “Yes, but what if that only delays her acting on me? Perhaps it would be better to go, with proper precautions, of course. Put an end to whatever game she’s playing now before it can get out of hand.”

 “How about you sleep on it? You’ve got a couple of days.”

 Garak stopped his pacing and looked to Julian. “Barring any unforeseen circumstances, this problem will still be here in the morning.”

 “Yes, but maybe you won’t be so flustered and be able to think on it properly.”

 “How do you expect me to sleep?”

 “I’ll find a way if I need to. You are not keeping me up all night over this.” Julian could go to his own quarters to avoid that, but it was obvious that Garak wanted him to stay to feel better, even if he wouldn’t admit it. “Maye go back to reading for a while to settle down.”

 Garak glanced between Julian and the padd a few times before letting out a huffed breath, picking up the device, and sitting back down. “I’ll try.”

 ********

 The next afternoon after work, Julian entered his quarters to find Garak frantically pacing. “What now?”

 “Kira came to my shop earlier,” Garak stated, not breaking stride.

 “I take it that she wasn’t there to buy anything,” Julian replied.

 Garak shook his head.

 “Well, I won’t say I told you she wouldn’t be happy about any of this.”

 “Oh, she made that extremely clear. There was absolutely no other possible interpretation.”

 “So you cancelled meeting Ziyal?”

 “No… I haven’t made that decision yet.”

 Julian crossed his arms. “Kira threatened you in your own shop about this, and you didn’t cancel?”

 “She made all this even more confusing!”

 Julian stood in Garak’s way and grabbed him by the arms to stop him from moving. The sight of his lover so flustered and confused like this was actually getting unnerving. “How did she do that?”

 “You see, I thought that by threatening me, it meant it was alright for me to meet Ziyal. If Ziyal really meant to kill me, I don’t think Kira would’ve been as adamant to warn me away. She would let me walk into the trap.”

 Julian blinked a few times to process the logic. “Okay…”

 “But then Quark brought up another point.”

 “You told Quark about this?”

 “No, I was fitting his suit when Kira came in. He already knew about my appointment with Ziyal, assuming it was a date-“

 “A date? I know he knows we’re together.”

 “Maybe he thought I wanted a little action with a Cardassian woman.”

 “Or maybe he was teasing you.”

 “I don’t know. That’s not important. After Kira left, he asked me if I was going to cancel. I told him I wouldn’t for the same reason I told you. But then he brought up that Kira could be luring me into a false sense of security. By warning me, I think it’s safe, when it really isn’t.”

 “Right… you’ve gotten yourself in quite the predicament.”

 “What do you think I should do?”

 “I think you shouldn’t have gotten yourself into this mess in the first place.”

 “That’s not helpful now. Do you think Kira would really let me be killed like this?”

 “Well… she doesn’t like you, but I don’t know if she’d purposely be part of a plan to kill you.”

 “See? You don’t know!”

 “Sorry, I meant I don’t think she would be.” Julian bit his lip in thought. “You know… I think you’re not considering another possibility.”

 “What would that be?”

 “That Ziyal was completely sincere about this. Maybe that’s what’s confusing you.”

 Garak’s tilted his head. “You want me to believe she’s sincere, and therefore feel safer about meeting her? I thought you were warning me away from her only a couple of days ago.”

 “I was, but not because I think she’s a direct threat. It’s Kira and Dukat I was worried about, not her. My impression of her is that she is what she appears to be. Her sincerity doesn’t come off as an act.”

 “And just how much have you interacted with her?”

 “Not very, but that’s not the point. You asked me for my opinion.” Julian was quiet for a moment. “Now that I’m thinking of it, a sauna holosuite program sounds rather suggestive. What if she’s attracted to you?”

 Garak stared at him for a long minute. “That is not helpful.”

 “I’m serious. What if she wants something romantic from you?”

 “Certainly she knows of our relationship. Everyone else does.”

 “Yes, but what if she still wants that?”

 “I’m hardly going to agree to that, if that’s her intention.” Garak broke away from Julian to sit on the couch.

 “You’ve still got a day to decide what to do. But the way I see it, there are three possibilities. She simply wants to get to know you better, she is interested in you romantically, or she wants to kill you. You can either go or not go.”

 “If I don’t, trying to figure out her intentions will bother me for days…” Garak muttered. “I do have a precaution to take with me...”

 Julian knew what that precaution was, but didn’t mention it. “As you told me, you can take care of yourself. Out of all the situations you’ve been in, certainly this isn’t very high on the list.”

 It took Garak another minute to say, “Alright, I’ll go. And if I don’t come back tomorrow night, you’ll know why.”

 “Stop that, before you get me properly paranoid along with you.”

 ********

 Julian looked up from the medical journal to the door as Garak walked in. “Well, I presume it went well, since you’re alive and don’t look hurt.”

 “If that’s how you’re measuring success, then certainly.” Garak took his phaser from the back of his belt and set it on the table. Then he joined the Human on the sofa, and Julian could feel the excess heat on him.

 “How did it go?”

 “I started by asking her what her intentions were. She doesn’t want us to avoid each other. So… we talked, mostly about Cardassia. She wanted to know more about it.”

 “That’s… interesting. Unexpected, really. Didn’t she live with Dukat there before coming to the station?”

 “Yes, but it wasn’t long enough for her to really get to know it.” 

 “I guess not. Do you still get the sense that she wants to kill you?”

 “This could all still be an act to lure me into a false sense of security, you know.”

 “Not what I asked.”

 Garak sighed. “At the moment, I would say she doesn’t.”

 Julian nodded. “What about if she’s attracted to you?”

 “I did get the sense of something there. She didn’t verbally say anything regarding that, but…”

 “I can’t say I blame her,” Julian replied with a little grin.

 “If it comes to that, I am most definitely refusing.”

 “So she doesn’t have a chance?”

 “Not at all. She’s a nice girl, but you’re a much better catch.”

 Julian let out a laugh.

 “All things considered, it was a nice time. Right now, though, I want to go to bed. I think the heat is making me sleepy.”

 Julian leaned in to feel the heat radiating from the Cardassian better. “It does feel quite nice.” He pulled Garak into a kiss. When they separated, he stood and took Garak’s hands to pull him up, then said in a low voice. “Let’s get to bed while you’re still warm.”  

 When they climbed into bed together, Julian teased, “See, I knew you were paranoid over nothing with all this.”

 Garak merely grunted and held Julian tighter against him.

 Julian buried his face into Garak’s warm chest. “You’ll have to use that program more often.”

 Garak made a sound of content and nuzzled his nose into Julian’s hair for a moment before closing his eyes. “Thank you, for your support.”

 “Anytime…” Julian said as they both drifted into sleep.


End file.
